Visit to New Delhi was purely musical in nature, The Voices of Baha choir group consisting of musicians from over 25 countries were visiting India for performing at various cities around the country and the final leg of their tour culminated in New Delhi. The weather was sultry and Delhi in July is like a desert , The Only thing refreshing the soul was the music of the Voices of Baha :
This was my first trip to the Island nation and the first times are always special . I happened to visit the country during the Vesakha which is a National Holiday in Sri Lanka to observe the Birth , Enlightenment and the Passing away of the Gautama Buddha on this day. The Entire Country lights up and they celebrate it by erecting Pandals which are illuminated panels depicting various episodes from the life of the Prophet Buddha.
Pandals
Columbo Evening Skyline
Also took some time out to visit the famous Gangarameya Buddhist monastery which was spectacular with its Pagodas and more than thousands of Buddha sculptures .
At Monastery
Detroit - March 2010
Detroit is [may be 'was'] the Car Capital of the world , it is also known as the fattest city on the United states, I clearly noticed that for sure. It is really dry and cold in the month of March when I landed there. I worked out of the Renaissance Center which is located on the Detroit River front which I consider one of the most well maintained river fronts in the U.S , across the Detroit river is Canada , a town called Windsor [Ontario], The River would freeze up every night and it was totally awesome to see it covered with ice every morning.
Detroit River front overlooking Canada
Ontario, Canada Evening Skyline
Detroit People Mover
Living in Detroit gives one an Idea of the enormity of the Recession that hit the United states , it was really sad to see how entire industries, homes, life's had been ravaged by the imbalanced economy that we participate in.
Chicago - March 2010
Chicago was cold and snowing in the month of March , that was surprising as I was not prepared for the snow , but I totally enjoyed the snow . I happened to be there on March 21st which is the Day of the Nawruz - the Baha'i New Year , Participating in the Nawruz celebrations of the Chicago Baha'i Community was the highlight of the trip .
Snow Everywhere
The Visit to the Baha'i House of Worship at Wilmette, Chicago on the March 21st Morning was unbelievable considering this was my first time there. It was snowing mildly and the House of Worship felt heavenly in all its towering glory. As it was the Occasion of Nawruz, The Baha'i community of Chicago had arranged a choral concert there conducted by Van Gilmor who is a popular well known Baha'i Musician. Attending the Concert at the House of worship was indeed a spiritual experience beyond description of word. There were other things I did while in Chicago like visiting Art Galleries , Museums , The Sears Towers but the time spent at the Baha'i House of worship was what stays on my mind.
The Baha'i House of Worship , Wilmette, Chicago
New York - April 2010
Of all the Cities visited , The Most inspiring was New York. In every street ,corner, landmark , artists/creative people perform art , it could be music, dance, gymnastics etc . It seems the whole city is musical, there is music every where , I found street musicians every in every locale playing some really good music , and one place where you will find lots of music is the NY subway :
New York Subway Music Scene
New York really felt like the melting pot of the world as you could see people from all cultures , countries, races, languages mingling together peacefully , I 've never seen such diversity anywhere in the world. On my first evening at NY city , I was invited to the Human Rights evening organized by the NY Baha'i Community and the Columbia University center for Human Rights , There were presentations from
Rudi Bakhtiar: Former CNN & Fox News Anchor, Current Communications Director for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
Bani Dugal: Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations.
Roxana Saberi: Iranian-American Journalist who was recently released from Evin prison where she was prison mates with Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, two of the seven Baha’i leaders.
Sarah Leah Whitson: Director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division.
It also featured a special presentation by Oscar-nominated Shohreh Aqdashloo and actor, playwright Houshang Touzie and an ensemble cast directed by Shidan Majidi of Cameron Mackintosh
Visiting the major landmarks was certainly exciting and thought provoking , going to the WTC center site was powerful I felt how life is so fragile.
Ellis Island
WTC center site.
A Poster at WTC memorial site
There was a jazz concert at the Poughkeepsie cultural center and attending that with NY friends was very enriching .
Jazz Concert at Poughkeepsie
It is really difficult to fathom all the memories left in this Great City , just too many. I fell full and it was mind blowing on the whole. Every city has a soul and New York certainly has the most distinct soul that would inspire any wayfarer who passes through it. The Final leg of the trip was in Times square and Union square .
Times Square :
Times Square was all about the place while Union Square was all about the people and what they do:
So that was the pictorial story of the cities visited till today this year, each of the visit would have taken a post by itself as there have been so many memories..Travelling has been such mind bending experience and has helped to develop a sense of what it really means to be a Global Citizen in the 21st Century . I think the world is more interconnected than we can possibly imagine and travel helps to open the eyes to see people beyond the veils of color, nationality, race etc. I think some great man once said "Travelling is like reading a 1000 books" , no matter what happens : It changes you forever.......
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